Mercedes B200CDI vs Octavia 103TDI wagon

[K1W1]

3. Bi-xenon (she can't see well at night because of her eye sight)

Do Octavias have Bi-Xenon lights now? When I brought mine only the low beams were Xenon.

[dArK5HaD0w]

don't forget u can haggle with the dealer. just cause the website says "blah", it doesn't mean that's the final price!

i paid $44k drive-away for mine, a factory order. i optioned xenons & front parking sensors. i'm sure if i had included leather i still would've had lots of spare change when compared to $53k.

choice is urs in the end.

but as gldgti said......if it was a c-class at that price ($53k) - hell yeah!!
b-class - no thanks.

[VAG newbie]

don't forget u can haggle with the dealer. just cause the website says "blah", it doesn't mean that's the final price!

i paid $44k drive-away for mine, a factory order. i optioned xenons & front parking sensors. i'm sure if i had included leather i still would've had lots of spare change when compared to $53k.

choice is urs in the end.

but as gldgti said......if it was a c-class at that price ($53k) - hell yeah!!
b-class - no thanks.

The price I've listed are both RRPs. Yes, I'm fully aware that you can always negotiate, and I always obtain corporate discount. So I just listed the price for comparison purposes. If I can get discounts on Octy, I can get discounts on Merc as well, it's just the question of how much discount I can get. So the price difference between Octy and Merc may remain the same.

I agree B class is bland and boring looking. But we are looking for a practical family wagon to carry kids, not a flashy sporty coupe for me to pick up chicks. So lack of image in the B class is actually working for me rather than against me. My wife's concern about B class is that it's too snobbish!

Previously I would never consider a Merc (or Audi or BMW or any other premium brand) because you pay a premium for the badge. But the new B class is real good value for money! Not only they have slashed the price by $5000 when the new one come out, they have added heaps of equipment, particularly making auto standard across the range, and have made many option packs reasonablly priced! Let's hope Skoda is keeping an eye on the market, and with the new 2013 Octy, they would slash the RRP and include a lot more stuff as standard, given the favorable exchange rate now!

[Ocy_RS_TDi_Kombi]

Looking at the options you've requested there isn't too much about and all above $50K......... Here are some you could start haggling on:

2012 SKODA OCTAVIA 103TDI DSG 1Z MY12 Cars For Sale in NSW - carsales.com.au - carsales.com.au

2011 SKODA OCTAVIA RS DSG 125TDI 1Z MY12 Cars For Sale in SA - carsales.com.au - carsales.com.au

Cheers

[ausspace87]

I paid $50K for my built-to-order RS, which has all the options of Leather, Sunroof, Xenons, Front Park Assist...
This may be a completely crazy idea, but maybe you need to visit a dealer in person and negotiate a price? (This also applies to the Merc...) Instead of relying on websites offering you full price for the car plus full price for every option... But hey, it's your money, spend as you may!

PS You should expect to be driving away in an Octavia with your spec's from low-to-mid $40K...

[K1W1]

Previously I would never consider a Merc (or Audi or BMW or any other premium brand) because you pay a premium for the badge. But the new B class is real good value for money!

Probably until you pay for dealer service.
One thing I would never do is buy a Mercedes under the impression that it will be any more reliable than any other vehicle on the road. MB reliability scores slipped horribly about 10 years ago to the point where they were verging on becoming rated as just ordinary. They have worked fairly hard to get them back up recently but they are still now only in line with other brands and definitely not better.
Personally I would be reluctant to buy the new B class simply because it's a new model from a European manufacturer. I'd be waiting till the two year update in 2014 and buying then with the initial bugs worked out. That doesn't help your requirement to buy now unfortunately. In the $50-60k range if you really want a MB I'd be looking at dealer demonstrator C class cars and be prepared to negotiate really hard.

[VAG newbie]

I paid $50K for my built-to-order RS, which has all the options of Leather, Sunroof, Xenons, Front Park Assist...
This may be a completely crazy idea, but maybe you need to visit a dealer in person and negotiate a price? (This also applies to the Merc...) Instead of relying on websites offering you full price for the car plus full price for every option... But hey, it's your money, spend as you may!

PS You should expect to be driving away in an Octavia with your spec's from low-to-mid $40K...

I always use a broker rather than negotiating with dealer directly. They are professional negotiators. The only problem is they want us to be sure which car we want first rather than shop around. Of course we are not obliged to buy if we think the price is not good enough an try to negotiate ourselves. So far, I could never beat the car brokers.

I don't pay RRPs. I think anyone who does has got too much money.

BTW, we are off topic here. I certainly appreciate all the advices about why I shouldn't pay $53K for an Octy and how much discount I should get. I would do the same if I see someone is about to be ripped off. However, it seems that everyone agrees that at $53K for an Octy is way too expensive, but no one seem to think that at $56K (which is also RRP) for the B200 is a rip off.

Has anyone had any experience negotiating with Mercedes? Are they likely to give discounts? I know Audi gives good discounts so I expect Mercedes to do similar. Any thoughts?

[candy_wagon]

I agree on the value of a broker. I just picked up my new VRS wagon using Stratton Finance and they saved me over $6000 on the list price with my driveway being $41,500. Of course, I didn't specify any options, but my car was ordered especially for me. If you tell them exactly what you want, right down to the colour, they can see what dealers are willing to do it for you. Of course, they do prefer if you use their finance, but that was also a deal I couldn't refuse!

As for the B Class, I just think they are too small for the money. I would rather pay $65K for a C250 CDI wagon demonstrator (usually loaded to the hilt with kit) than the high $50's for a little B class. A good fianace deal might make that possible.

[K1W1]

However, it seems that everyone agrees that at $53K for an Octy is way too expensive, but no one seem to think that at $56K (which is also RRP) for the B200 is a rip off.

$56k for a German designed built somewhere unknown version of a Mazda 3 series is a total rip off but you expect that when you go into a Benz, BMW or Audi dealer and I suspect that people here either have no experience of that or are now numb to it.

[VAG newbie]

I agree on the value of a broker. I just picked up my new VRS wagon using Stratton Finance and they saved me over $6000 on the list price with my driveway being $41,500. Of course, I didn't specify any options, but my car was ordered especially for me. If you tell them exactly what you want, right down to the colour, they can see what dealers are willing to do it for you. Of course, they do prefer if you use their finance, but that was also a deal I couldn't refuse!

As for the B Class, I just think they are too small for the money. I would rather pay $65K for a C250 CDI wagon demonstrator (usually loaded to the hilt with kit) than the high $50's for a little B class. A good fianace deal might make that possible.

Is your wagon TSI or TDI? I'm looking into the vRS seriously now. If I can get the TDI under $42000 that would be great.

The reason I compared B class with Octavia is not just on price alone, they are in the same class. In Europe I believe B200 competes with Golf Plus (?wagon), and they have similar engine capacity. The length of B200 is short, yes, but apparently it's interior space is good. (rear leg room bigger than S class, boot capacity 488L), so although it's a small-medium car, I think it is fair enough to compare it with Octavia.

But after reading some reviews, I believe vRS wins big time in handling and performance.